CN1255263A - Portable communication device and method of performing multiple functions via power key of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A communication device (10) includes a power key (40) located on an outer surface of the housing which may provide multiple functions, but is resistant to initiation of undesired handset functions. Control circuitry (50) within the communication device may be configured to ignore any actuation of the power key (40) with a duration less than a determined time period. The control circuitry (50) performs a first function if the power key is depressed for a first duration (T1), and performs a second function when the power key is depressed for a second duration (T2). For example, depression of the power key (40) for a short period of time may silence an incoming call alert, whereas depression of the power key for a longer period of time will turn the communication device on or off.

Description

Portable communication device and method for performing multiple functions through its power key

Background of the invention

I. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a communication device and a method for performing various functions through a power key in the communication device. The communication device may be a portable device such as a wireless telephone.

II. Description of related technologies

Wireless communications have become increasingly popular with ordinary people due to ever-decreasing prices and service providers expanding the nature of the services they offer and their coverage areas. Another aspect of the recent development of wireless telephony which has contributed to its increasing popularity is the dramatic reduction in the size and weight of telephone handsets, thereby increasing their portability. This allows the user to place the phone in many convenient places, such as a purse, car toolbox, or jacket pocket. Unfortunately, however, such widespread user use and ease of portability has led to an inevitable increase in careless use and care of telephone handsets. Therefore, it is best to make a cell phone that can withstand careless use and not behave in an undesired manner.

It will be appreciated that one undesirable situation that a cellular phone handset can exhibit when storing the handset is inadvertent movement of the keypad. This can result in the handset being accidentally switched on or off, starting a phone call or transmitting other unwanted signals, or performing electronic functions that the user does not actually intend to perform. A serious consequence of this unwanted action is premature draining of the cell phone's battery.

In order to minimize this problem, several telephone handset designs have been used or suggested. For example, many newly adopted cellular telephone handsets are made foldable so that their size can be minimized when not in use. For example, the "flip-phone" described in U.S. Patent No. 4,845,772 to Metroka et al. has a foldable flip-phone that covers the phone that includes the on/off button when the phone is in storage. Phone keypad. It will be appreciated that while covering the button with the flip will provide protection from inadvertent button actuation, the device described in the Metroka patent will not actuate the on/off button when the flip is closed. Thus, the on/off button cannot be actuated when the flip is closed even when a foreign object such as a coin or a paper clip is accidentally inserted under the flip.

Devices such as those described in the Metroka et al. patent have at least one significant disadvantage. It is always convenient for the user to be able to access a phone handset without opening the flip part. This was not possible with the device of Metroka et al. It may be noted that even though the on/off button is accessible when the flip is closed, the on/off inhibit feature of the Metroka et al. device still requires the user to open the flip in order to turn on or off the phone.

Additional functions are also convenient for the user without having to open the flip section. For example, when an incoming call is received, the user may wish to silence the incoming call alarm, make the call unanswered, divert to voice mail service, or be handled in some other manner specified by the user. In this case, the user would preferably be able to silence the alarm without opening the flip.

Thus, there is a need for a portable telephone handset that prevents inadvertent button actuation while allowing easy access to features that are convenient for the user to be able to use quickly and easily.

Summary of the invention

According to one aspect of the present invention, a communication device is provided, which includes: a power key; a control circuit coupled to the power key, for detecting the action of the power key, and if the action of the power key continues Time is greater than a first predetermined time interval, in response to said actuation of said power key, silencing an alarm, and if said duration of said actuation is greater than a second predetermined time interval, powering on or off said communication device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for implementing multiple functions by means of a power key in a communication device, the method comprising: detecting the action of the power key; if the duration of the action is longer than the first a predetermined time interval, silencing the alarm in response to actuation of the power key; and powering on or powering off the communication device if the duration of the actuation is greater than a second predetermined time interval.

The present invention also provides a communication device in which a main switch is provided to perform various functions, said communication device including a circuit for monitoring the operation of the switch, and for time intervals greater than a first predetermined time interval , for responding to actuation of the switch by performing a first function, and for a time interval greater than a second predetermined time interval (which is different from the first predetermined time interval), for responding to actuation of the switch by performing a second function.

An improved handset may include a housing and an on/off switch located on an outer surface of the housing, wherein the on/off switch is accessible to a user. In some embodiments of the invention, a key of the handset may include features that assist in preventing undesired handset functions from being activated. Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention includes a portable communication device including an on/off switch and a control circuit coupled to the on/off switch. The control circuit can be configured to control the on/off state of the circuits in the portable communication device. Furthermore, the control circuit may be configured to ignore any actuation of the on/off switch that lasts for less than a predetermined time interval.

Embodiments of the present invention also include radiotelephones that include a key coupled to a control circuit, wherein the control circuit is configured such that it performs a first function if the key is pressed for a first duration, and a second function when the key is pressed for a second duration. duration, it implements a second function. The invention also includes a method of operating a communication device. For example, one embodiment of the invention includes a method of controlling the state of a cellular telephone handset comprising the steps of: determining the time a key of the cellular telephone handset is pressed, and when the pressed time is less than a selected time interval, Maintain the current state of the cell phone handset.

The invention can be implemented in a communication device having a multifunctional main switch. The communication device includes at least a power key and a control circuit coupled to the power key for detecting actuation of the power key and, if the duration of the actuation is greater than a first predetermined time interval, for responding to the actuation of the power key, causing an alarm Silence, and if the duration of the action is greater than a second predetermined time interval, for powering on or off the communication device.

The communication device may also include a body portion having a front, a rear and a top surface with the user interface on the front and a power key disposed on the top surface. Additionally, the communication device may include a removable flap portion secured to the body portion by a hinge on the top surface of the body portion. Optionally, in the communication device of claim 2, the power key is disposed in a recessed portion of the top surface of the body portion, so as to provide stronger resistance to unintentional actions. In one embodiment, when the detachable flip part is in the closed position, the user interface is covered, and when the detachable flip part is in the closed position, the power key is still exposed.

Brief description of the drawings

The features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In all the drawings, the same symbols are used for corresponding identification, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cellular telephone with a hinged flip open;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a cellular telephone handset with a detachable handset;

FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the cellular telephone handset of FIG. 1 with the flap portion closed;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the cellular telephone handset of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cellular phone handset of Figure 4 along line 5-5;

Figure 6 is a block diagram of a portion of the circuitry of the cellular telephone handset of Figure 3;

Fig. 7 is the flow chart of a part of action that the cell phone handset of an embodiment of the present invention finishes;

Fig. 8 is the flow chart of a part of action that the cell phone handset of an embodiment of the present invention finishes;

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of a part of the actions performed by the cellular phone handset of a particular embodiment of the present invention, which handset is equipped with a multi-function power switch; and

Figure 10 is a flow chart of a portion of the actions performed by a cellular phone handset of another particular embodiment of the present invention, which handset is equipped with a multi-function power switch.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a communication device which, in this particular embodiment, includes a radiotelephone handset 10. As shown in FIG. Cell phone 10 may include a body portion 12 and a flip portion 14 . Body portion 12 and flip portion 14 may also be coupled by hinge 16 . Cell phones 10 that include such a hinged flip portion are commonly referred to as "flip-phones." The foldable nature of the handset 10 makes storage convenient for the user, as the handset can be folded into a very small, compact device and carried in a pocket, purse, or the like. The handset 1 of FIG. 1 also includes an antenna 18 extending from one surface of the handset 10 . Antenna 18 may be made retractable or fixed as is known in the art. Also shown in Figure 1 are some other features of a standard radiotelephone handset. These features include keypad 22 , display portion 24 and microphone 26 . Furthermore, the flip portion 14 may additionally include an earpiece 28 . It should be noted that the keypad 22 may also be another form of user interface, such as a touch-sensitive screen and others known in the art.

In some embodiments of the invention, the flip portion 14 includes a first portion 30 of an actuator having a second portion 32 on the body 12 cooperating therewith. As will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 , the actuator comprising the first portion 30 and the second portion 32 can be used to vary the response of the handset 10 to different user commands. The actuator may be a mechanically actuated reed switch, magnet and Hall effect switch, or may include other flip actuator mechanisms known to those skilled in the art. Another actuator is described in US Patent No. 5,175,759 to Metroka et al., wherein the actuator and hitch switch are located within the hinge 16 itself. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the type of switch mechanism used for the actuator, and any type of switch known in the art, whether or not all are included in the hinge portion 16, can be used instead of that shown in FIG. The first part 30 and the second part 32. However, for simplicity, an actuator comprising a first portion 30 and a second portion 32 is depicted in FIG. 1 .

Another embodiment of a radiotelephone handset is depicted in FIG. 2 . This embodiment also includes antenna 18 , keypad 22 and display portion 24 . However, this embodiment does not have a hinged flap as shown, but rather has a slidable earpiece 28 which extends upwardly when the handset is in use. In this embodiment, a first portion 30 of the actuator may be disposed within the bottom surface of the earpiece 28 and may mate with a second portion 32 of the actuator in the upper horizontal surface of the handset's body. Alternatively, the actuator in FIG. 2 could be hidden behind the earpiece 28 and could include other switching mechanisms as is known in the art. It should be pointed out again that the present invention is not limited to the type of switch mechanism used for the actuator, and any type of switch known in the art, whether or not it is fully contained in the earpiece 28, can be used in place of the switch shown in FIG. A first portion 30 and a second portion 32 are depicted. However, for simplicity, an actuator comprising a first portion 30 and a second portion 32 is depicted in FIG. 2 .

3 depicts a side plan view of the radiotelephone handset of FIG. 1 with flip portion 14 closed and mated to body portion 12. FIG. As can be seen from Fig. 3, when the flip part 14 is closed, the two parts 30, 32 of the actuator cooperate. A volume control key 36 may also be provided on one face of the mobile phone 10 .

A top view of the handset 10 of FIGS. 1 and 3 is shown in FIG. 4 . As shown in this figure, some embodiments include a power key 40 on the face 20 of the handset. Such placement of the power key provides the benefit of easy user access. For a cell phone that is carried by the user in a belt-type carrying case (not shown), this arrangement of the power key is more convenient since the power key 40 is located on the exposed face of the cell phone 10 . With such a carrying case, the user can look down at the surface 20 and see the power key 40 . In some embodiments, the power key 40 is a momentary contact switch, such as a membrane switch known in the art. The invention is not limited to the type of switches used.

However, it should be noted that the exposed power key 40 is susceptible to inadvertent actuation. Accordingly, some embodiments of the handset 10 may include a recessed portion 42, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, with the power key 40 located within the recessed portion. This recess 42 provides a form of resistance to inadvertent actuation of the power key. It should be noted that while FIGS. 4 and 5 depict various views of the radiotelephone handset 10 of FIG. 1, they are equally applicable to non-flip-part style radiotelephones, such as the example with a sliding handset depicted in FIG. Other types of wireless handsets are known in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 6 , it can be seen that the power key 40 and the actuator switches 30 , 32 each provide an input to a control circuit 50 within the handset 10 . Control circuit 50 also interfaces with memory 52 (which may include both ROM and RAM), keypad 22 and clock 54 . Also provided in the handset 10 is a battery 56 which provides energy for the entire handset 10 . The control circuit 50 also interfaces with a power supply circuit 60 which provides suitable voltage and current levels to one or more transceiver circuits 62 which drive the antenna 18. In some advantageous embodiments of the invention, the power supply circuit 60 is switched on or off by an activation signal from the control circuit 50 . Control circuit 50 also controls call alert circuit 62, which alerts the user of an incoming telephone call by means of audible, visual or tactile signals as known in the art.

It should be understood that many changes may be made to the circuit shown in Figure 6, which are generally familiar to those skilled in the art. In many embodiments, control circuitry 50 will include one or more suitably programmed microprocessors or microcontrollers. Also, many possible interconnections are not drawn. For example, keypad 22 and/or display portion 24 may be powered by power supply 60 in addition to RF transceiver circuitry 62, as may portions of control circuitry 50 itself. Additionally, the power key 40 and actuator switches 30, 32 can be interfaced with the control circuitry in a number of ways. Together with FIGS. 7-10 below, the functions performed by the control circuit 50 and associated circuitry of the handset 10 are described. From the description given herein, one skilled in the art will be able to readily design the hardware and associated programming to perform those functions.

As noted above, the power key 40 may be located in a recessed portion 42 of the handset housing to help deter inadvertent actuation. However, it is beneficial to take additional precautions. Accordingly, some embodiments of the handset incorporate a detection system that enables the phone to ignore momentary power key actuations if the time interval between pressing the power key is shorter than a predetermined time interval. FIG. 7 shows the steps performed by, for example, a communication device such as the cellular telephone handset of FIGS. 1-5 , which operates to ignore short presses of the power key. In this figure, it is assumed that the device begins the sequence of steps in the "on" state 70, and performs its normal monitoring and control functions, as a radiotelephone handset normally performs. If the power key 40 is pressed, circuitry within the handset determines at step 72 the time interval for which the power key 40 was pressed.

This can be done in a number of ways. For example, a timer using the clock 54 is started when the power key is initially pressed, and is stopped when the power key 40 is released. In many currently operating radiotelephone systems, a radiotelephone handset periodically receives an absolute time reference from a cell station (not shown) with which it communicates. In these cases, by noting the time the power key 40 was pressed, and comparing it to the time the power key 40 was released, the duration of the power key 40 press can be determined. Obviously, one skilled in the art can use many kinds of methods for determining the duration of power key 40 depression without departing from the present invention.

Regardless of how the duration of the power switch depression is determined, at step 74 this time is compared with a predetermined time (denoted as "T1" in FIG. 7). If the power switch is depressed for longer than T1, then at step 76 the device is powered off. On the other hand, if the power switch depression time is less than T1 at step 74, the control circuit 50 ignores the actuation of the power key 40 and returns to the initial routine monitoring and control routine at step 70. It should be understood that this procedure provides additional protection against inadvertent power-off of the phone due to the system ignoring occasional short presses of the power key.

It is also understood that the same type of procedure can be done when the cell phone is initially disconnected. This is depicted in Figure 8. In this case, contrary to FIG. 7 , the handset 10 starts the procedure at step 80 from the disconnected state. In step 82 , similar to FIG. 7 , the device determines the pressing time of the power key 40 for the action of the power key 40 . Of course, this requires some circuitry to remain operational even when the device is in the "off" (as that term is used herein) state. The term "off" as used herein may also be referred to as a "sleep mode" in which certain portions of the circuit 50 are controlled without power being supplied to the RF transceiver circuit 62, the keypad 22, and many other circuit elements. Power continues to be provided by the battery 56 to accomplish a limited set of housekeeping functions, such as monitoring the status of the power key 40 .

Then, at step 84, the power key 40 depression time is compared with a predetermined time interval (denoted by "T2"). If the pressing time of the power key 40 is less than T2 at step 84, the control circuit 50 ignores the action of the power key 40 and returns to the initial off state (or sleep state) finishing procedure at step 80. It may be noted that this time interval T2 may be different or the same as T1 of FIG. 7 in the same radiotelephone handset.

A notable additional feature of some embodiments of the present invention is that once the circuitry for determining when a key is pressed is implemented in the radiotelephone handset, additional functionality can be included in the key. For example, a radiotelephone handset could be made that performs a first function when a key is pressed for a first time interval and a second function when the key is pressed for a second time interval. A specific example of such a cellular telephone handset is depicted in FIG. 9 .

FIG. 9 depicts a functional sequence performed by a radiotelephone handset, such as the radiotelephone handset 10 of FIG. 1, which combines the power on/off function and the incoming call alert silence function. In this particular embodiment, the handset starts the procedure of FIG. 9 from the "on" state at step 90, because the handset 10 can generally only provide an incoming call alert to the user if the handset 10 is powered on when an incoming call is received. .

At step 92, the device determines the power key press time in a manner similar to that described above with respect to FIGS. 7 and 8 . Then in step 94, the mobile phone control circuit compares the pressing time of the power key with the first predetermined time T1. If the power key press time is less than time T1, the handset returns to the normal monitoring and control routine at 90. If the pressing time of the power switch is greater than T1, then in step 96 the mobile phone checks whether there is an incoming call. If there is an incoming call, the alarm feature of the handset will be activated and in step 98 the handset will silence the alarm. After silencing the incoming call alarm, or if there is no incoming call at that moment, the handset will compare the power switch press time with a second predetermined time T2 in step 100, which in many embodiments is longer than the first predetermined time T1 is long. If the power switch press time is less than time T2, the handset returns to the normal monitoring and control routine at 90 again. However, if the power switch is pressed for longer than the time T2, the mobile phone is powered off at step 102 . In this way, both functions of the incoming call alarm silence function and the power-off function are performed with a single key. As mentioned above, this key can be reached by the user so that it is easily accessible to the phone user, but still prevents accidental actuation, since key actuations of durations shorter than T1 and T2 do not trigger the handset to perform any function.

A more detailed flowchart of the functions performed in one possible embodiment of a cellular telephone handset is depicted in FIG. 10 . In the system depicted in this figure, a timer is used to set the first flag after the power key 40 on the handset 10 has been pressed for a selected time interval. If the power button 40 continues to be pressed for an additional selected time interval, a second flag is set. The control circuit 50 of the handset 10 monitors the status of these flags and performs different functions depending on which of the two flags (if any) is set.

Referring now to FIG. 10, at step 110, the handset 10 may initially be in an "on" or "off" state, performing its normal monitoring and control routines. In the handset embodiment described by FIG. 10, at step 112, the control circuit 50 in the handset detects the state of the power key 40 (and the keys on the keypad 22) to determine if the key is being pressed at that moment. The hardware of the mobile phone described by FIG. 10 also includes a timer circuit (which may be part of the clock 54) for timing the power key press intervals.

In step 112 and after the control circuit 50 detects whether the power key is pressed, in step 114 or 116, the mobile phone control circuit 50 also detects whether the timer is working. If the power key is not pressed at step 112, and the timer is not working at step 114, this means that no power key action has occurred recently, so the handset returns to the routine monitoring and control routine at 110 places. However, if the control circuit determines at step 112 that the power key is pressed, and determines at step 116 that the timer is not connected, this indicates that the power key is pressed, and thus at step 118 the timer starts counting the duration of the power key 40 press.

If the control circuit 50 determines that the power key 40 is pressed at step 112, and determines that the timer is connected at step 116, this indicates that the timer at step 118 has finished starting after the previous power key detection, while the power key 40 is still active. being pressed. At this point, as described in more detail below, the handset once again returns to the normal monitoring and control routine, effectively waiting for the power key 40 to be released. Thus, in this particular embodiment, the handset will start the timer shortly after the power key is initially pressed, and stay in the loop defined by steps 110, 112, and 116 for as long as the power key 40 remains pressed. Any function related to the power button. Furthermore, as long as the power key 40 is inactive and the timer remains off, the handset stays in the loop defined by steps 110, 112 and 114 and does not complete the functions associated with the power key 40 either.

After starting the timer at step 118, the handset determines two additional things. First, it determines at step 120 whether the actuator (which may include, for example, a flip portion or a slidable earpiece as shown in Figures 1 or 2) is open or closed. Second, in step 122 or 124, the control circuit 50 determines whether the mobile phone is currently on or off.

If the actuator is closed and the handset is off, when the timer reaches the first predetermined time T1, then at step 126 the control circuit 50 will set two flags, which are indicated by FLAG1 and FLAG2 in FIG. 10 . If the actuator is closed and the mobile phone is in the ON state, when the timer reaches the second predetermined time T2, the control circuit 50 will set FLAG1 at step 128, and when the timer reaches the third predetermined time T3, then at step 128 130 The mobile phone sets FLAG2. As will be discussed in detail below, when FLAG1 is set, this indicates that any incoming call alarm should be silenced. When FLAG2 is set, this indicates that the device should be powered on if it is currently off, and off if it is currently on. It can be pointed out that if the device is disconnected, the incoming call alarm cannot be started, so there is no need to set FLAG1 and FLAG2 at different times when the device is initially in the disconnected state.

As also described in FIG. 10, if the actuator is open and the device is on, the handset will set FLAG1 at step 132 when the timer reaches the fourth predetermined time T4, and when the timer reaches the fifth predetermined time At T5, the mobile phone will set FLAG2 in step 134 . If the actuator is on and the device is off, the handset will set FLAG1 and FLAG2 at step 136 when the timer reaches the sixth predetermined time T6.

Of course, the six different time intervals T1 to T6 can be set independently to determine a user-friendly delay time while still helping to prevent unintentional phone functions and enabling the power key to activate two separate function. For example, it may be advantageous to make the time intervals T4, T5 and T6 shorter than the time intervals T1, T2 and T3. In these embodiments, the delay time is longer when the actuator is closed (so the phone may be in a pocket or purse). Of course, it is preferable to make T2 and T4 shorter than T3 and T5 respectively, as this allows a short duration of power key 40 depression to activate one function, while a longer duration of power key 40 depression activates another function.

As also described in FIG. 10 , FLAG1 and FLAG2 are used to selectively enable handset functions upon release of the power key 40 . If at step 112 the control circuit 50 indicates that the power key is not pressed, and at step 114 indicates that the timer is on, this indicates that the power key was pressed, the timer has been started, and the power key is currently released. In this case, the control circuit 50 will reset the timer to zero at step 138 . Then at step 140 the control circuit 50 will check the status of FLAG1. If FLAG1 is not set, this indicates that the timer never reached any of times T1 to T6, and the duration of the power key 50 press was short enough that the power key press should be ignored. The handset therefore maintains its current state, returning to the routine monitoring and control routine at 110 .

If FLAG1 is set, then in step 142 the control circuit determines whether an incoming call is being received and thus the incoming call alarm has been activated. If an incoming call is not being received, then FLAG1 is cleared at step 148 . If an incoming call is being received, control circuit 50 may check other parameters at step 144 to determine whether the alarm should be silenced. These further parameters may include the expiration of another specified waiting period or the existence of some other mode of operation which attempts to disable silencing of the incoming call alert. If the handset determines that the alarm can be silenced, it does so at step 146 and clears FLAG1 at step 148 . If the control circuit determines that the alarm should not be silenced regardless of the state of FLAG1, the alarm silence step 146 is skipped and FLAG1 is cleared at step 148 as before.

After clearing FLAG1 at step 148 , control circuit 50 checks the status of FLAG2 at step 150 . If FLAG2 is not set, this indicates that the power key 50 was pressed long enough to set FLAG1 but not FLAG2, thus indicating that the key's power on/off function should not be completed. Therefore, if FLAG2 is not set, the control circuit returns to the normal monitoring and control routine at 110 . If FLAG2 has been set, this indicates that the power key was pressed long enough to set FLAG2, so at step 152 the control circuit 50 checks other parameters to determine if the device should change its on/off state at this time. For example, the control circuit 50 may be constructed so that if a button of the keypad is pressed, the circuit prevents the device from changing its on/off state. If the control circuit 50 determines that the on/off state can be changed at this moment, then at step 154, if the handset is initially in the on state, it is powered off; and if the handset is initially in the off state, it is powered on . FLAG2 is then cleared at step 156 and the control circuit returns to the normal monitoring and control routine at 110 . If the control circuit 50 determines that the on/off state of the handset should not be changed, step 154 is skipped, FLAG2 is cleared, and the control circuit returns to the normal monitoring and control routine at 110 .

It will be appreciated that the program of many different steps and the hardware to perform those steps can be utilized in order to take advantage of the benefits of the present invention. As described above, many different methods of determining when the power key 40 is pressed can be implemented. In some advantageous embodiments, the control circuit 50 can be configured to respond immediately to a timer reaching some predetermined value, rather than waiting for the power key 40 to be released, as in the embodiment of FIG. 10 . In addition, the timing of the duration of the power key 40 press can be performed as part of the program controlling the microprocessor or microcontroller in the handset, or can include a separate circuit that provides signals that are controlled by a program programmed in the handset. microprocessor or microcontroller to interpret. Different devices will have different benefits in different designs of radiotelephone handsets, and those skilled in the art will be able to easily design hardware and/or software that provides the features of the invention described above and that is effectively compatible with the The special cordless phone handsets work effectively together.

The above description of the preferred embodiment is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles identified herein may be applied to other embodiments without the exercise of inventive ability. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown here but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims (6)

1. a communicator is characterized in that, described communicator comprises:

Power key; And

Control circuit, it is coupled to described power key, if the duration of the action of described power key greater than first predetermined time interval, then in response to the described action of described power key, this circuit is used to detect the action of described power key, and make report to the police quiet; And if the described duration of described action greater than second predetermined time interval, then this circuit makes energising of described communicator or outage.

2. communicator as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, described communicator also comprises:

Body part, it has front, back and end face, has user interface on described front, and described power key is arranged on the described end face; And

Dismountable part of stirring, the hinge that it is used in the described end face place of described body part is fixed to described body part.

3. communicator as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that, described power key is arranged on the recess of the described end face of described body part.

4. as claim 2 or 3 described communicators, it is characterized in that the described part of detachably stirring covers described user interface when in off-position, and, expose described power key when the described part of detachably stirring when being in described off-position.

5. a method of finishing multiple function in communicator by means of power key is characterized in that, described method comprises:

Detect the action of described power key;

If the duration of described action, then the described action in response to described power key made the quietness of reporting to the police greater than first predetermined time interval; And

If the duration of described action, then makes described communicator energising or outage greater than second predetermined time interval.

6. communicator, it is characterized in that, it is provided with a main switch that is used to carry out multiple function, described communicator comprises the circuit of the action that is used to monitor its switch, come of the switch motion of response time interval with producing first function that will be performed greater than first predetermined time interval, come the response time at interval greater than different with producing second function that will be performed, the switch motion of second predetermined time interval.

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